The Story of Aeolian Pipe Organ Op. 1458Installed in the Music Room of Paul Morris in Exeter, Devon, UK.

Part One:

Commissioned in 1919 by Walter H. Langshaw of New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, -
1458 cost $27,900 or about £6000. With tax and import duty had
the organ come to England, in today's money this would be about two
and a half million pounds. The organ was made in Garwood, New Jersey
and erected in May 1920.

Mr Langshaw had emigrated from England at
an early age and through hard work and no doubt some good fortune,
he worked his way from shop floor to manager of the Dartmouth
Manufacturing Corporation. Known locally as “the miracle man”
because of his uncanny ability to predict the direction of the stock
market, he died in 1959 at the age of 88.

Mr. Langshaw was a keen amateur organist, and was no doubt
encouraged to indulge his taste in specification when the stop list
was decided upon. Although nowhere near the largest organ the
Aeolian Company made (the Dupont organ of 146 ranks in Longwood
Gardens was their biggest) it was considerably larger than their
most common jobs of two manuals and nine ranks. 1458 has 3 manuals
and currently 27 ranks playing. A three rank Echo division was
prepared for but never installed. The full specification would have
had 2020 pipes. Originally the organ spoke into the main entrance
hall from three large tone exits and two smaller lunettes. The
results must have been stunning.

By 1966 the organ had made its way to the Pilgrim United Church
of Christ in New Bedford and seems never to have been very
satisfactory. The church authorities, headed by Ernest Scholze,
commissioned the advice of Henri Lahaise & Son at this time, and
were advised that the organ was in need of “extensive repairs” which
could cost in the region of $18,000, and further noted that “even in
fine condition, you would still have an organ that does not avail
itself to [sic] church music” It seems likely that not much work was
done on the organ, and various “field repairs” and patching up were
done throughout the next twenty years by anyone who could be
persuaded to have a go.

In June 1987 the church must have
given up on this organ, because it was removed by Jim Russell
for a restoration project that did not take place. It was
stored in his New Hampton home for the next 14 years until it
came to my attention via Dave Kerr as a posting on the MMD. I
bought it in December 2001, when Paul Collenette and myself
embarked on one of the craziest and best adventures of my life
so far.